Halloween TAG
by English Rhodes
Summary: The Tracy Island Halloween party becomes a mission into its depths...


_'Braains... Braaaaiiiinnnnnnss...' _

Brains rolled his eyes and sighed, as Gordon lumbered in, dragging one foot behind him. He had really gone all out with the makeup this year, green-grey skin, sunken eyes and matted hair.

'Can I help you?' Brains glanced back at him dismissively before going back to his console.

Gordon kept up the shambling shuffle for a few more paces, then realised how it would take him to get across the room. Dropping character with a sigh, he walked on normally.

'What do you have in there, anyway?'

Brains' console was wired into a large storage container, that had sat ominously in the corner of the workshop for several weeks now. Several viewing windows dotted the sides, but Gordon could never see anything inside, and any time he had tried to sneak a peek, he'd been warned off.

'It's a new care package I've been developing. But it's not finished. It's also secret.' he looked back at Gordon, an uncharacteristic sternness in his eyes.

Gordon stepped back, a little freaked out.

'Okay.' Then he remembered why he came down in the first place. 'We were wondering if you were joining us. You just missed Kayo bobbing for apples.'

Brains continued typing for a few moments longer. Then he felt the eyes on the back of his neck.

'Come on, Brains, it won't be a family without you.' the sentiment hung in the air for a moment, neither of them voicing the Jeff-shaped lack-of-elephant in the room. Then an idea came to him, and he winced. 'You're not still smarting over last year, are you? Or the year before… or the year before?'

Brains sighed. 'No, not at all.'

Brains saved and backed up his work.

'I'll be right up.'

With a spring in his step, Gordon headed back to the house. 'Aren't you going to dress up?'

Brains paused for a moment. 'I'll think of something.'

Virgil munched happily on the apple, not bothering to dry off. The old flannel would dry soon enough, and it added to the werewolf look. He actually started considering keeping the sideburns for a while longer.

Halloween had come and gone, of course. It was now halfway through November. But the boys had always found themselves busy over the holiday. So many fireworks displays gone awry, so many accidental fires. Especially when Fischler was involved… Virgil shuddered, then put him well out of mind. Relaxing on the sofa, he took in the scene;

MAX was scuttling around the room, offering his bucket of candies to everyone, and no one had the heart to turn him down. He was really proud of his spider costume- which he'd apparently made himself. He warbled happily, climbing up into his "web" on the ceiling.

Scott was talking (and subconsciously flirting) with Kayo over the punch bowl. Scott's classic Vampire costume was... unimaginative, but he carried it off with suitable grace. Kayo was actually showing off fewer curves than normal, her frame lost in the folds of her Egyptian Princess dress. How she managed to bob for apples without smudging her makeup was a mystery to Virgil, but her wingtips were still, to coin an old phrase, "on point", and really brought out her eyes.

The other ladies of the party were over by the window, just in earshot, and were discussing their costumes.

'I haven't seen Hogwarts robes in years, Mrs Tracy.' Penny was saying, impressed.

'_Sally_. Oh, I've had these for... almost forty years.' Grandma readjusted her scarf- blue with silver-grey bands. 'Found it at the back of the wardrobe and thought, "what the hell?"' she shugged. 'You look wonderful, dear. And so does little "_Sherberus_". Grandma fussed the little dog's head as he sat in the crook of Penny's arm. Two soft plush heads sat either side of Sherbet's, gazing off to either side.

Penny seemed to glow for a moment. 'I honestly wasn't sure anyone would get the reference.' She glanced down at her long, flowing robes, a sheaf of wheatgrass braided into her hair as it tumbled over her shoulder.

'I know my ancient Greek, dear.' Grandma smiled.

The music shifted, and Grandma winced. Penny regarded her, concerned, and he waved it off.

'The music's not really my thing, dear.'

'I can have a word with Parker.' Penny glanced over at him; he was in his element at the controls of the antique mixing table and DJ rig- which he had kept, upgraded and maintained since his adolescence, as far as she knew. His own costume, a long, hooded robe, hung down to obscure his face, but she caught sight of his smile as he worked; they could always have set up a party playist, of course, but Parker so rarely had the opportunity to really indulge in one of his oldest hobbies.

Grandma- _Sally- _shook her head, her hand rested on Penny's arm. 'No need, dear.'

As usual, John was playing the wallflower, glass of punch in hand, holoviewer in the other. Eos was running things on Thunderbird 5, and was reassuring John, for the half-dozenth time, that all was well.

'_I like your costume.' _she offered, attempting to change the subject. 'Very dashing.'

John smiled, blushing slightly. He was a little self-conscious about it at first, being a replica from his favourite TV show, but nobody seemed to care. It was Halloween, after all.

Alan had put just as much research and effort into his own costume- surprising his brothers with his dedication; an exact (if undersized) replica of Alan Shepard's Mercury pressure suit from over one hundred years ago. He had been so exact in his work, it was probably spaceworthy (though he wasn't about to find out.) He breathed a heavy sigh as he sat down next to Virgil, setting his helmet down on the table.

'You okay, little bro?' Virgil glanced over at him. Alan nodded, yawning.

Not long after, Gordon hobbled back into the lounge, back in character. Without warning, he dropped down behind Virgil and starting "gnawing" on him.

'Dude, really?' Virgil chuckled, gently swiping up at him with his claws.

'Where's Brains?' Alan asked, and Gordon stopped "attacking" Virgil; instead, he started tapping the top of his brother's head.

'Not in here.' He said with a wink.

'Hey!' Virgil bristled theatrically.

Almost everyone was looking over at Gordon now, who hopped over the ledge in a very un-zombie fashion and sat down between his brothers. He shrugged.

'Said he'd be right up.'

'I do hope he joins us.' Penny said as she offered Sherbet a nibble.

'He'll be along.' Grandma said, with that old, knowing smile.

Almost half an hour passed; Parker had slowly been cranking up the music and the party was now in full swing, which of course led to the legendary, "Tracy Family Halloween Dance-off!"

John usually sat these out with Grandma. It wasn't that he _couldn't_ dance, he just liked to keep it fair as his brothers paired off. There had never been any set "rules" to the Dance-Off!; the brothers would split into pairs- sometimes drawn by lots, sometimes just who felt like dancing with who- and sometimes they even choreographed; years of living and training together meant that, more often than not, the Tracys were able to wordlessly freestyle and improvise on the fly, picking up on the other's movements. This time round, it was Scott and Gordon vs Virgil and Alan; they'd each arranged a mixtape with Parker, jumping from one to the other.

John sat and watched with Grandma; all of them were on their A-game and for a while it was a tough call.

Then the music changed entirely; John's jaw dropped, as Penny and Kayo took the floor; clearly they had been planning this for a while, and between them they promptly wiped the floor with the boys.

John sat in stunned silence, while Sherbet yapped happily in his lap. Then the room was full of applause, as Penny and Kayo bowed.

Penny took her seat, panting, and Sherbet jumped happily back into her lap. Her hand went up to her chest. 'Oh my, that was…'

'Yeah, that was.' John said with a laugh. Kayo appeared with a cup of punch for Penelope, and for just a moment, John thought he saw a hint of something between them, more than a professional attachment. _Did Kayo just wink at her?_

The Tracys were falling over each other to congratulate the girls, Gordon first in line. Penny tried not to blush, surrounded by so many handsome young men singing her praises, while Kayo had a "business as usual" kind of smile. Penny was grateful when Sally called them all back over for the next round of freshly-prepared nibbles.

'Are you okay?' Kayo asked, gently resting a hand on hers. She looked genuinely concerned. Penny smiled.

'Oh, I'm fine. Just… more of a workout than I was expecting.

'We sure showed them, though.'

Kayo winked again. And Penelope honestly wasn't sure how that made her feel… but it felt good.

Right in the middle of a rather spectacular guitar solo, the music suddenly cut out, along with the lights and holo-decorations. Everyone clamoured, looking to Parker, who just shrugged.

'I didn't do anything.'

Kayo reached for her comm, now hidden beneath a golden bracelet. 'Brains? Brains, is everything okay down there?' she opened her hand, and a flickering light coalesced over her palm; Brains suddenly appeared in the viewer, looking suddenly haggard. His image flickered, interference from the other end of the call.

'…' his lips were moving, but they heard nothing.

'Brains? Brains, we can't hear you, are you okay?'

The image flickered some more, and Brains disappeared for a second, before reappearing slightly out of focus.

'… _adjust… boost audio… care package… of control… lockdown…._

'…_help!' _

Scott looked up at his brothers, and surrogate sister, who were all instantly on mission.

'Let's go.'

'With main power down, we can't get to our regular gear.' Virgil said as they ran for the backup lockers. 'Hope you've all been keeping up with maintenance.'

'Why does everyone always look at me when someone says that?' Alan muttered, grabbing his backup gear and slinging it over his shoulders.

First to reach the door, Gordon looked back at the team, and couldn't help but laugh.

Scott glowered at him. 'This isn't the time!'

Gordon put up his hands. 'I know, I know, I'm sorry! Just… well look at us!'

The group looked around at itself; A vampire, a werewolf, Troy Tempest, a 1950s astronaut, a zombie, and an Egyptian princess, all kitted out with state-of-the-art emergency rescue gear…

Scott clenched his jaw. 'Point taken. Now shut up and open the hatch.'

Sally watched them go, electing to remain in the lounge with Penny and Parker, hoping everything would go well.

By sacrificing a few parts of his DJ rig, Parker was able to reroute emergency power back into the main holo-viewer on Jeff's old desk, and bring up a map of the Island. Everyone on the Island knew its layout like the back of their hand, of course, but if they needed to split up, Sally would be able to keep tabs on their movements through the complex.

Six markers made their way through the slowly rotating image, headed towards a seventh, some levels below.

'How are we doing, boys?'

Scott kept the pace brisk, but not fast enough to tire anyone out.

'The place looks a lot different with the lights out…' John muttered, cautiously glancing around corners as they passed an intersection. 'What was that about a "care package"?'

'Brains wouldn't say anything about it.' Virgil sounded calm as ever, but John saw the tension in his brother's broad shoulders. 'Just something about a new AI risk assessment program.'

'I thought it was a new robot. Like a… MAX 2.0 or something.' Alan was starting to regret making the lining of the suit so authentic. It was starting to chafe. 'I figured that's why it was in a vault.'

Grandma came in through the comms. Audio only.

'We're fine. Almost there. Anything on the scanner?'

'_Just you and Brains… his lifesigns seem stable. Hold on, I'm recalibrating… _

'_oh my.' _

The team came to a halt, just outside the main hub. Scott's hand hovered over the door controls.

'Grandma?'

'_I'm… I'm not sure what I'm seeing. Something else is moving around down there. I can't get a solid reading on it, just…'_

An ominous pause.

'_it's big, whatever it is. And moving.' _

_Boom! _

The sound echoed through the corridor, reverberating back on itself over and over in the suddenly very narrow-feeling passageways. Virgil flinched, hunching down and bracing. Beside him, Kayo had come into a combat stance, her eyes flicking to and fro, watching for anything, listening.

'Grandma, we're at the main intersection.'

'I have you.' Sally glanced up at Penny. 'The… whatever-it-is, it's just busted out of the lab. I've lost it on the acoustic sensors.'

Radio feedback suddenly squealed overhead, making everyone flinch.

'… _anyone hear me?_'

'Brains!' Scott breathed a sigh of relief. 'Brains, are you okay, where are you?'

'… _s-still in my lab. It's… I don't know, it's…_' the radio cut out again.

'Brains?... Brains?!'

Scott's eyes widened, as something large, mechanical, and angry, roared.

The group instinctively bunched together, back to back.

'What the hell was he building…' Virgil muttered.

Another roar, this time definitely coming from down the left-hand corridor.

Scott looked to the others. Three corridors remaining, including back the way they'd come.

'Two teams. Kayo, Virgil, Gordon, take the right. John, Alan and I will take centre. Brains is the priority, then get to the reactor room and get main power online. Grandma.'

'_Right here, Scott.'_

'Do what you can to keep tabs on us and… our friend. Hopefully we'll regroup at the lab.'

Scott looked to his team. His family.

He couldn't be prouder.

Virgil took point, with Kayo taking up the rear. They knew the way, but lit only by emergency beacons and their torches, the rabbit warren that was Tracy Island's infrastructure looked a lot less like home.

Gordon strained to hear, his training taking hold; tuning out their footfalls and the low sounds of their breathing, he listened for anything else. Normally that would be the creak of a floorboard or the crackle of fire, the hiss of a gas line, or the shouts and moans of survivors.

Here… nothing. Not even the buzz of the base air conditioning.

'Grandma… sitrep?'

'_You're doing fine, Virgil. Almost there.' _

The corridor began to curve, and soon enough, the door to the main lab came into view.

It had been ripped open, the thick metal hatchway lying several feet down the corridor, mangled almost beyond recognition. Deep, jagged indentations and a shattered viewport. Beyond it, the main lab; it was pitch dark. No lights of any kind.

'Holy…' Virgil breathed.

Kayo darted forward, her hand blocking Virgil's path. Looking back at him, she put a finger to her lips, glancing between him and Gordon, who nodded.

Slowly, carefully, Kayo stepped around the wreck of the door and to its battered frame. Aiming her torch, she ducked down onto one hand, leaning into the chamber. Gordon saw he ponytail swishing in the half-light of their torches, as she glanced around the room. Then, slowly, she got to her feet, and looked back at them.

'okay…' she said softly. 'All cl-'

There was a rush of air and the scream of damaged metal forced to move, and an emergency bulkhead slammed down between them with a BOOM!

'Kayo!' Virgil ran to the bulkhead, Gordon right behind him. Gordon tried to see through the darkened viewport, while Virgil attempted to override the door. Tapping on the door, he called for Kayo, and heard nothing back.

'No good. Step back.'

Gordon did as he was told, as Virgil fired up the cutting torch on his rescue gauntlet. Gordon shielded his eyes while Virgil worked. The torch was painfully bright in the gloom of the corridor.

'Grandma, have you got Kayo? We've lost contact?'

Nothing. Gordon tried again, then called for anyone on the frequency. Nothing.

Maybe the torch was interfering with the signal? Gordon retreated down the corridor, trying again on the comm while Virgil worked.

Another roar. Gordon froze.

Was that a scream?

Gordon raced back to the intersection, listening hard.

'Guys? Anyone there!' He shouted, his voice echoing down the corridors and back to him. Rather than venture on, Gordon decided to regroup with Virgil, and see how he was getting on with the door.

'Virge? How's that door coming? Virge?' he shouted over the sound of the torch… which sat on the floor, smoldering the decking. The gauntlet lay on its own, ticking over. Virgil was nowhere to be seen.

Gordon swallowed. 'V… Virgil?' he knelt down and shut off the gauntlet. The torch puttered out and folded back into its place, leaving the floor beneath it glowing for a few moments.

Normally he wouldn't- he knew how touchy Virgil was about his gear- but Gordon reached for the gauntlet, hoping it would fit.

Something big and heavy crashed against the bulkhead, and Gordon staggered backwards, tripping on the fallen door. He managed to keep his footing, barely.

Another crash, and the creak of protesting metal.

'GUYS!' Gordon ran back down the corridor to the intersection, to be greeted with another deafening roar.

He looked back at the corridor leading to the surface. Should he regroup with Grandma? Should he protect Penny? What could he do, just him alone against…

'No.' Gordon Tracy squared his shoulders, and turned against the surface corridor. Checking the power supply on his torch, and picking up the first thing he could for a makeshift weapon, he began down the centre corridor.

Whatever it was, it wasn't going to get his family.

The main corridor had several branching walkways to the various storage rooms and self-contained lab spaces. One of them had been used as a sensory deprivation tank during their training, and Gordon had given that one a wide berth ever since. Nevertheless he checked inside, a quick sweep of his torch.

For a fleeting moment, he lingered on how ridiculous he must look, in full zombie makeup, ripped jeans and an ancient, torn-up shirt. He was just glad he'd decided not to gum his eye closed.

He found the main thoroughfare to the lab blocked by another bulkhead, but he was sure there was another path around, assuming the other bulkheads hadn't been triggered.

He tread softly, but as quick as he dared, straining to hear.

'Gordon!'

Gordon whirled around, barely stifling a scream. 'John?' he sighed. 'Don't do that, man!'

John looked out of breath. His jacket was torn at the shoulder. As he staggered forward into the torchlight, Gordon was sure he could see blood.

'It… it came out of nowhere. It got… it's… it's-' with a yell, he vanished from view, swallowed by darkness.

'John!' Gordon sprinted ahead, following the scream and the screech of shoe leather.

Another intersection. Gordon swung his torch down each pathway, but John was gone, with no way of knowing which path… Gordon squinted.

A boot lay on the floor, just inside the beam of the torch. With nothing else to go on, Gordon soldiered ahead.

And then the noises started. Crashes and rattles, breaking glass. The thud of bodies on flooring.

A shout. A scream.

Gordon tried the comms, one last time. Nothing. He was alone. No communications. No holograms. Basic equipment. It didn't look good. But he was a Tracy, and he was on mission.

Challenge the impossible.

The lab was dark and cavernous, separated from the main island hub, and in its way the heart of International Rescue; here was where Brains designed and tested his prototypes, his pride and joy. He often boasted that it was the most advanced laboratory workspace in the known universe. Now, it just looked to Gordon like a very large, very dark room, with a lot of dark spaces for things to hide in. Cables hung from their housings, occasionally sparking, filling the room with flashes of light and acrid smoke.

Gordon trod lightly, holding his breath. He kept the torchlight low, scanning for fallen debris, listening for something, anything.

Something creaked above him, and he looked up. The torchlight barely reached the ceiling, but it was enough to catch something moving between the ceiling supports and maintenance ducts. Darting from the light, its scuttling echoed around the chamber.

Gordon took two steps back, straining his eyes and staring into the gloom…

He backed into something. Something hard. Something large.

Something that wasn't there a moment earlier.

Gordon swallowed.

It growled, right behind his ear, making his hackles rise. He smelled metal. Hot rubber. Industrial lubricant. Blood.

Gordon's eyes darted to either side, desperate for a bolthole. A desk, a locker, anything he could use for cover… nothing in sight.

There was a heavy creak of metal and plastic. Gordon didn't hang around to find out why.

Sprinting to one side, he hoped he remembered the lab layout as well as he did. There was a roar behind him, and he picked up speed. In the flailing torchlight, he didn't see the overturned office chair. The torch went flying, clattering into the darkness as he tumbled over the chair; he managed to roll into it, his shoulder hitting the ground hard, his momentum throwing him almost to his feet. Almost.

Gordon scrambled for purchase on all fours, trying to find traction, as the thing behind him loomed. Its feet thudded on the ground, echoing round the room. Gordon threw out his hand, and found nothing but solid, unyielding wall.

As the creature-machine-care package, whatever it was, loomed ever closer, Gordon braced himself, his back quite literally against the wall. His eyes had just begun to adjust to the pitch black of the chamber, and could just make out the silhouette of the thing. Its hulking shoulders, its long, powerful arms, its many, arching legs. Gears and servos whirred, and tiny red lights burned in what passed for its head. Slowly, it reached for him.

Gordon stared it down, bracing for impact, waiting for the inevitable, as the robot's hand extended a single, padded finger.

And gently touched him on the nose.

'Boop.'

The lights came on, flickering a little, and gradually filling the room with a warm, efficient glow.

Gordon stared at the hand, going slightly cross-eyed, as it gently pushed up the tip of his nose.

Someone started clapping, and soon, so was everyone else. Everyone but Brains, who was still holding the control board.

'Wait, what?' Gordon watched, dumbfounded, as the robot backed away, dutifully following Brains' commands, and quietly returned to its workbench.

Virgil appeared, offering a hand to pull him to his feet. He patted his little brother on the shoulder as they joined the others.

'This… this whole thing was…' Gordon looked around the room at his family, and centred on Brains, who simply shrugged.

'Got you.'


End file.
